Goodbye my love
by mimijag
Summary: AU / This story takes place 40 years after Tom and Sybil's wedding. Don't ask me why I wrote this. Let just say that the story came to me. Thank you to Skinnycat77 for the beta.


**Don't even ask me why I wrote this. This story just came to me one morning and refused to leave my head. So I just had to write it and I'm sorry if some of you don't like it. Sybil and Tom are note often written as aged people so...here it is. reviews are welcomed as usually. A big BIG thank you to skinnycat77 for the bet. It was our first collaboration and I'm sorry it was with such a sad story. I promise you that the next one will be happier. x**

**Goodbye my love**

Tom was sitting in a chair next to the window in their room and was looking outside at the sea. It was almost eleven o'clock but it wasn't still completely black. At this time of the year, June it is, nights were always clear as the sun seemed to never want to go to sleep. From their house near Galway, overhanging the coast, the view was breathtaking all year long but particularly at the beginning of the summer.

Tom sighed.

Would he see another summer?

The door cracked open and he turned his head slightly to see his lovely wife enter the bedroom. Her hair was grey now, her face marked with some wrinkles but he didn't care. For him, she was as beautiful as the first day he met her. She smiled at him and he smiled back before turning away to the window again.

Would he be able to go without her?

"The kids have finally decided to go to bed," she said softly, going to him. "And your editor called again."

She reached for the blanket that had fallen down and placed it on her husband's shoulders.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, patting his back.

Tom shrugged.

"The same. I'm fine until I decide to move. And then, going to the toilet is like climbing the Himalayas and back. It's exhausting me…"

"You have to give it time."

"I haven't time, Syb. And you know it."

"Don't speak like that," she lectured him, heading to her vanity.

"I don't want you to be in denial, love. Please. You heard what the doctor said…I'm going to die."

"So am I," she stubbornly replied. "It just doesn't have to be tomorrow or next week."

"My heart murmur…"

"…Has been there for years."

"But I'm not young anymore and my heart is growing weaker and weaker."

Sybil looked at him in the reflection of the mirror before looking down.

"I know," she breathed past the lump in her throat. "I just don't want to think about it."

They went silent before Tom talked again.

"I'm glad the kids came. I know I said they shouldn't but it was good to be all gathered together again one last time."

"It's exhausting you."

"But it's a good exhaustion."

He took a long breath and Sybil stopped to breathe herself, almost expecting him to collapse each time it was happening.

"Do you want to go to bed?"

"I'll wait for you," he replied. "I want to watch you get ready if you don't mind."

Sybil smiled sadly before nodding. She undressed slowly under her husband's gaze that was full of love. She knew her body wasn't in its best shape anymore but her husband's look never changed as hers on him. It was in these private moments of intimacy that she realized how lucky she had been to be loved by him. Not wanting to dwell too much on the past, she hurried then proceeded to brush her hair.

"I would have loved to do that if I wasn't feeling so weak."

"I know you would. You brushed it almost every night for the last forty years. But I'm thinking about cutting it again. You don't mind?"

"I don't. Do what suits you best. I like it either way".

When she was finished, she put the brush back on the vanity and turned to him.

"Ready now?"

Tom nodded. She went to him and helped him to get up. He was already in his pyjamas, as he had been for the past few days. He was spending most of his time in the bedroom now so he didn't see the point in getting dressed, despite the insistence of his wife. She thought he was letting himself go. He knew she was right and that he should fight with all his forces. But the truth was that he hadn't strength anymore. He was feeling empty and that was terrifying him. Because not fighting meant he was leaving her soon.

She helped him to climb in bed and she turned away quickly so that he couldn't see her wince from hearing his labored breath. It was only a short way from the chair to the bed and yet, it had taken him a lot of effort. She went around the bed then climbed in at his side.

As it had been from the first night they spent together, she curled in his arms, and placed her hand on his chest, feeling his heart beat slowly under her hand. She sighed contently.

"Love?" asked Tom after a while.

"Hum?"

"Have you been happy with me?"

Sybil pushed away from him and looked down at his eager face.

"You know I have and I am. Why do you ask?"

"I just wanted to be sure," he said, pulling at her so she could take back her place on his chest. "I promised you long ago that I would devote every minute of my life to your happiness. I wanted to be sure it had been the case before I go away."

"Tom, please…stop with that. You just need to rest and things will get better," she added softly, almost as she was falling asleep.

Tom didn't answer and just pulled her even tighter against him slightly kissing her lips. He wanted to feel her warmth and her softness. He wanted to feel her body so perfectly fitting his. He wanted to feel her breath against his neck. He hadn't said anything to her because he didn't want her to worry, but while he was waiting for her in his chair, he felt it. He felt the coldness enter his body. He felt this feeling pulling him away. He tried to fight it but he couldn't. He knew that death was coming for him and there was nothing he could do despite all his lovely wife could say.

It was his time.

It was his time to leave. He was leaving with regrets for sure. How could he be happy to leave her anyway? But he wasn't too worried for her. He knew she would be desperately sad but he also knew she would be surrounded and loved by their children and his family. And they would meet again when her time would come, he was sure of that too. So, he was leaving in peace, grateful to God for having given him the life he had. He had been lucky enough to marry the woman he loved and they had a great life together. What more could he ask for except more time?

He could hear her steady breath now and feel her relaxed against him. He smiled despites himself and placed his other arm around her to be completely linked to her. She didn't move or even protest. He stayed still, just watching her figure slightly visible in the dim light coming from the window where they forgot to close the curtains. She was so beautiful. She was such a picture to leave with…

He was feeling more and more tired but he refused to close his eyes. He wanted to enjoy her a little bit more. But soon, way too soon, he felt it again, the coldness, the numbness taking possession of his body, and his heart…

Unable to resist the call of whatever was pulling him away, he leaned to her and breathed, "Goodbye my love," before finally closing his eyes. And just like that, in the arms of his soul mate…

...he was gone…

**The end.**


End file.
